Redvers Buller

Redvers Buller (7 December 1839-2 June 1908) was a veteran General in the British Army during the late 19th century, seeing action in wars in China, Ghana, South Africa, Egypt, and Sudan. He played a key role in the Second Boer War, serving as commander-in-chief of the British forces in South Africa until 1900.

Biography
Redvers Buller was born on 7 December 1839 in Crediton, Devon, England, and he was commissioned into the British Army in May 1858, serving in the Second Opium War, Anglo-Ashanti Wars, and Anglo-Zulu War in several distant colonies of the United Kingdom. Buller, as a Lieutenant-Colonel, fought at the Battle of Hlobane in the Anglo-Zulu War and was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery, and he led mounted troops at the final victory in the Battle of Ulundi. In 1881, he served under Evelyn Wood as his Chief-of-Staff and was made a full General in 1896 after fighting in the Mahdist Wars in Sudan against the Mahdists. In 1899, Buller was appointed commander-in-chief of British Army forces in the Second Boer War, fighting against the Boers in South Africa. This war was a disaster, with Black Week seeing several defeats, including the Battle of Colenso and Battle of Stormberg. However, the final Battle of Bergendal would be won by his veterans. In 1900, he returned to England as Frederick Roberts replaced him as commander, and he died in 1908 in Devon.